October 20: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 20, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1898, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Young Republican Club meeting in the Academy of Music last evening was a great success. It was one of the largest meetings ever held in the city. Thousands of people filled the Academy and as many were turned away. Montague street was packed with people, who waited patiently until Colonel [Theodore] Roosevelt appeared, and they gave him a reception that was as enthusiastic and thrilling as any man ever received in Brooklyn. The doors of the Academy were opened promptly at 7 o’clock and within five minutes every seat in the building, from the bottom floor to the gallery, including the stage and the boxes, was filled with enthusiastic men and women, who were eager to show their enthusiasm … The first cheers for Roosevelt were given at the suggestion of Major Bell, who, in stentorian voice, shouted, ‘Three cheers for Colonel Roosevelt, our next Governor,’ and they were given with a will.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “An avalanche of selling yesterday brought to a close one of the most reactionary weeks in stock market history. Billions of paper profits were wiped out and millions of cash losses were sustained. Exchanges all over the world were affected. Wheat and cotton prices sagged as speculators, hard hit by stock declines, sold. News was no more discouraging than it had been for several months. Money was cheap, but selling continued by frightened traders and big bear operators.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (A.P.) — The towering 200-pound detective who is King Edward’s personal bodyguard has been assigned to watch Mrs. Ernest Simpson, the monarch’s American-born friend. He is Chief Inspector David Storier of Scotland Yard. His assignment is to shield the former Baltimore debutante pending hearing of her divorce suit against her shipping broker husband. Every time Mrs. Simpson leaves her new Cumberland Terrace residence in the fashionable Mayfair district until she is safe inside again, Storier’s bulk hovers close by. Anyone venturing near her receives a sharp warning from the detective. Mrs. Simpson makes frequent excursions in a big closed automobile identical to one belonging to the monarch himself.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (U.P.) — The United Nations Political Committee today overwhelmingly indorsed the Western plan for control of atomic energy as a necessary basis for eventual elimination of atomic weapons. Only the Soviet bloc objected. The vote was taken paragraph by paragraph on a Canadian resolution, with the final roll call approving it 41 to 6. The resolution now goes to the plenary session of the General Assembly for what will be routine final approval. The effect of the committee proceedings was to turn the atomic energy control problem over to the Big Five and Canada. The committee voted to ask those nations to confer privately and try to find a basis for agreement on atomic energy and elimination of atomic weapons from national armaments. The committee earlier rejected, 39 to 6, the Soviet proposal on atomic energy submitted two weeks ago. It called for simultaneous action in destroying the American stockpile of atomic bombs and creating an atomic energy control agency. The Western Powers objected to the Soviet plan, insisting that an airtight system of international control and inspection would have to be established before the United States would feel safe in destroying its atomic weapons.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle said, “Reports smuggled from Havana by Western sources said today Fidel Castro is building a Cuban ‘dew line’ (distant early warning) to alert to any surprise attack. Soviet ‘troops and technicians’ are busy building an island-encompassing network of radar stations and other electronic installations similar to that built by the U.S. to prevent surprise attack from the North, the sources said.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “Shortstop Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who broke Ty Cobb’s base-stealing record, was named winner of the September poll for the Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year Award. Wills was an easy winner, attracting 76 first place votes and a total of 263 points, compared to 6 first place votes and 106 points for golfer Jack Nicklaus. Heavyweight champion Sonny Liston was third with 13 first place [votes] and 104 [points]. Wills, who wound up the 1962 season with 104 stolen bases, joins all previous monthly winners in the contest for the $10,000 diamond studded belt.” Maury Wills died Sept. 19, 2022, two weeks shy of his 90th birthday.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson, who was born in 1937; Baseball Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, who was born in 1937; “Boy Meets World” star William Russ, who was born in 1950; Foreigner co-founder Al Greenwood, who was born in 1951; “thirtysomething” star Melanie Mayron, who was born in 1952; broadcaster and former N.Y. Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez, who was born in 1953; Oscar-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle, who was born in 1956; “Little Miss Sunshine” co-director Valerie Faris, who was born in 1958; “Green Book” star Viggo Mortensen, who was born in 1958; U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was born in 1964; “Cobra Kai” star William Zabka, who was born in 1965; political commentator Michelle Malkin, who was born in 1970; three-time NBA All-Star Eddie Jones, who was born in 1971; and model and philanthropist Candice Swanepoel, who was born in 1988.

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AUSTIN’S POWERS: “The Six Million Dollar Man” premiered on this day in 1973. The action-adventure series, based on the novel “Cyborg,” was a monthly feature on “The ABC Suspense Movie” before becoming a regular series in 1974. Lee Majors starred as astronaut Steve Austin, who, after an accident, was “rebuilt” with bionic legs, arms and an eye. He worked for the Office of Strategic Information, carrying on sensitive missions. “The Bionic Woman,” starring Lindsay Wagner, was a spin-off from the show.

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SINGING ITS PRAISES: The Sydney Opera House opened on this day in 1973. One of the most iconic and dramatic man-made structures of the 20th century, the opera house was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, the theater is perched on Sydney Harbor and appears to be a ship in full sail. It took 14 years to build and its roof is covered with more than 1 million tiles.

Quotable:

“The American dream belongs to all of us.”

— Vice President Kamala Harris, who was born on this day in 1964